Departed During 2022

Lost forever.
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Re: Departed During 2022

#181 Post by TheGreenAnger » Wed Aug 10, 2022 8:23 pm

G-CPTN wrote:
Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:48 pm
The real Raymond Briggs.
I commend this film to those who loved Raymond Briggs's work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_%26_Ernest_(film)
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Anne Heche

#182 Post by TheGreenAnger » Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:11 pm

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Re: Departed During 2022

#183 Post by FD2 » Sat Aug 13, 2022 4:47 am

The only thing I've seen her in was Six Nights, Seven Days with Harrison Ford from about 1998. I thought she was good in it but apparently it only got 5.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes so what do I know? :-\

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Re: Departed During 2022

#184 Post by TheGreenAnger » Sat Aug 13, 2022 8:06 am

FD2 wrote:
Sat Aug 13, 2022 4:47 am
The only thing I've seen her in was Six Nights, Seven Days with Harrison Ford from about 1998. I thought she was good in it but apparently it only got 5.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes so what do I know? :-\
I thought it was a good film too FD2. Critics shmitticks... ;)))

A look at Anne Heche's roles...

Her last film is likely to be released soon.

The Girl in Room 13

I see that her brother died in a car crash, which affected her deeply, it does make one wonder about the motive for her untimely and unnecessary end!
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Re: Departed During 2022

#185 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:52 am

Wolfgang Petersen, director of 'Das Boot', aged 81.
I tried an experiment of showing the max depth test from the movie in my physics lab, with surround sound and total background darkness (not even an LED, all taped over). Scared the living daylights out of the Sixth Form. Exceptional directing.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#186 Post by FD2 » Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:49 am

Couldn't agree more about the directing - an exceptional war film and refreshingly from the German perspective.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#187 Post by TheGreenAnger » Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:20 am

Fox3WheresMyBanana wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:52 am
Wolfgang Petersen, director of 'Das Boot', aged 81.
I tried an experiment of showing the max depth test from the movie in my physics lab, with surround sound and total background darkness (not even an LED, all taped over). Scared the living daylights out of the Sixth Form. Exceptional directing.
Somebody in my class of miscreants would pilfered some potassium and ignited it in the air in the pitch black to add some verisimilitude if any of our science teachers had had the imagination to show this wonderful film in similar circumstances.

Great film.
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Leon Vitali...

#188 Post by TheGreenAnger » Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:17 pm

Stanley Kubrick collaborator Leon Vitali has died, aged 74.

Vitali, who not only appeared in two Kubrick films, but worked as the director’s personal assistant, was described by the Kubrick estate on Sunday (21 August) as “the mainstay of a vast number of Kubrick’s films”.

He had roles in 1975’s Barry Lydon, in which he played Lord Bullingdon, and Eyes Wide Shut (1999), which also features a nod to Vitali in the form of a newspaper headline read by Tom Cruise’s lead character.

It was after his role in the former that Vitali struck up a friendship with Kubrick, and earned a “personal assistant to director” credit on his 1980 Stephen King adaptation of The Shining.

He was also the casting director for 1987’s Full Metal Jacket, which starred Matthew Modine.

“It is with the greatest of sadness that we have to tell you that the mainstay of a vast number of Kubrick’s films, Leon Vitali, passed away peacefully last night,” a post by an official Twitter account related to Kubrick read.

“Thoughts are with his family and all that new and loved him.”

Away from Kubriuck, Vitali also collaborated with Todd Field on his films In the Bedroom and Little Children.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 49503.html



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Re: Departed During 2022

#189 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Aug 22, 2022 5:21 am

A more fulsome article of Leon VItali...

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/a ... es-aged-74
Leon Vitali, the Barry Lyndon actor who became one of Stanley Kubrick’s closest associates, has died at the age of 74.

Vitali died on Friday in Los Angeles, his family said on Sunday. He died peacefully surrounded by loved ones including his three children, Masha, Max and Vera.

“Leon was a special and lovely man driven by his curiosity, who spread love and warmth wherever he went,” his children said. “He will be remembered with love and be hugely missed by the many people he touched.”

Though Vitali was often described as Kubrick’s assistant, the 2017 documentary Filmworker shed light on his enormous and largely unsung contributions to the work of one of cinema’s greatest figures, from The Shining through Eyes Wide Shut. He did everything from casting and coaching actors to overseeing restorations. Vitali even once set up a video monitor so Kubrick could keep an eye on his dying cat.

Matthew Modine, who starred in Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, tweeted his condolences on Sunday.

Matthew Modine in a scene 1987’s Full Metal Jacket filmed in Beckton, east London.

“There are people we meet who have a profound impact upon our lives. Leon Vitali was one such person in mine,” Modine wrote. “An artist in every aspect of his life. A loving father and friend to so many. A kind, generous and forgiving nature. He exemplified and personified grace.”

The film-maker Lee Unkrich also tweeted that he was “completely heartbroken”. “He helped me enormously with my Shining book and I’m gutted that he won’t see it. He was a sweet, kind, humble, generous man and a vital part of Stanley Kubrick’s team.”

Before meeting Kubrick, Vitali was a rising actor in the UK, appearing in several British television shows including Softly, Softly, Follyfoot, Z Cars and Notorious Woman.

In 1974 he was cast in Barry Lyndon as Lord Bullingdon, the son-in-law of Ryan O’Neal’s title character.

Vitali was so fascinated by Kubrick and his processes that he made the unusual decision to give up on acting and devote himself entirely to the famously demanding director for more than two decades.

Vitali’s next Kubrick credit was as “personal assistant to the director” on The Shining, though that’s only part of the story; he famously helped cast four-year-old Danny Lloyd to play Danny Torrance and Louise and Lisa Burns as the creepy Grady twins (citing Diane Arbus as inspiration).

“Meeting Stanley was a turning point for me,” he told the Guardian in 2017. “Through him, I started seeing things from a different angle. I talked to Stanley about working with him, and he said, ‘OK, let’s see what happens.’” That same year, he described his decision to give up acting as the “one truly, truly radical change in my life”.

After Kubrick’s death in 1999 Vitali oversaw restorations of many of Kubrick’s films and received a Cinema Audio Society award for his work. He later worked with the director Todd Field on his films Little Children and In the Bedroom.

Before making the documentary Filmworker, its director, Tony Zierra, said he and many Kubrick-obsessed fans knew Vitali for his performances in Barry Lyndon and Eyes Wide Shut, in which he played Red Cloak, and for being a key member of Kubrick’s inner circle. But when he finally met Vitali to make the film, he was struck by “his kindness, humility and the fascinating scope of his story”.

Zierra is working on a director’s cut of Filmworker that will include new footage that he and Vitali wanted in the film but couldn’t get done in time for its Cannes debut in 2017.
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Re: Departed During 2022

#190 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Aug 26, 2022 7:26 pm

'Star Trek' legend Nichelle Nichols' ashes to be launched into deep space on Vulcan rocket
What kind of send off did Leonard Nimoy get? :-?

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/star- ... can-rocket#

Late "Star Trek" actress Nichelle Nichols’ ashes will boldly go where few have gone before when they are launched into space aboard a historic Enterprise Flight later this year.

Nichols, who was known for playing the iconic Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on all three seasons of the original show from 1966-1969, died on July 31. She was 89.

Launching later this year on board United Launch Alliance’s aptly named Vulcan rocket, Nichols will live long and prosper among the stars through Celestis Inc., the leader in memorial spaceflights.

Nichols' remains will be joining late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991, and his deceased wife and "First Lady of ‘Star Trek’" Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who passed in 2008.

The cremated remains of late "Star Trek" actor James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott and died in 2005, and visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, who died in February, will also be included in the mission to mark the unique "Star Trek" reunion flight.

‘STAR TREK’ ACTRESS NICHELLE NICHOLS DEAD AT 89

"We are truly honored to add a legendary actress, activist, and educator to the Enterprise Flight manifest," Charles M. Chafer, co-founder and CEO of Celestis Inc., said in a release.

"Now our Enterprise Flight will have on board the person who most completely embodied the vision of Star Trek as a diverse, inclusive, and exploring universe."

The flight is scheduled to travel between 150-300 million kilometers into deep space and beyond the Earth-Moon system.

On the mission, Nichols will also be joined by her son, Kyle Johnson, who will submit his DNA to allow him to take this journey with his mother.

"My only regret is that I cannot share this eternal tribute standing beside my mother at the launch," Johnson said.

"I know she would be profoundly honored for this unique experience and enthusiastically encourage all of her fans to join us vicariously by contributing your thoughts, affections, memories, NN inspired successes, dreams, and aspirations via email to be launched with her on this flight! WOW!" Johnson said in a statement.

5 AFRICAN-AMERICAN GROUNDBREAKERS IN THE US SPACE PROGRAM

Fans are encouraged to submit their names and tributes to Nichols as part of a worldwide public memorial page at enterprise-flight.com, which can then be digitized and launched with her on the journey.


Through Celestis, 200 flight capsules containing cremated remains, messages and DNA samples from clients worldwide will also join the endless interplanetary space journey.

Nichols broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood and was an advocate for space flight programs as NASA’s recruiter-in-chief.

"Nichelle Nichols was a trailblazing actress, advocate, and dear friend to NASA. At a time when black women were seldom seen on screen, Nichelle’s portrayal as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek held a mirror up to America that strengthened civil rights. Nichelle’s advocacy transcended television and transformed NASA," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a release.

"After Apollo 11, Nichelle made it her mission to inspire women and people of color to join this agency, change the face of STEM and explore the cosmos. Nichelle’s mission is NASA’s mission. Today, as we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols."

President Joe Biden released a statement shortly after her death last month, praising the actress for shattering stereotypes during a pivotal time in the Civil Rights movement.

"In Nichelle Nichols, our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women," he said.

He said she was from a "working-class family from Illinois" and that she honed her skills as an actor and singer in Chicago before she toured the country with Duke Ellington and gave "life to the words of James Baldwin."

"During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, she shattered stereotypes to become the first Black woman to act in a major role on a primetime television show with her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek," Biden said. "With a defining dignity and authority, she helped tell a central story that reimagined scientific pursuits and discoveries. And she continued this legacy by going on to work with NASA to empower generations of Americans from every background to reach for the stars and beyond."

Biden continued: "Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society."

She earned accolades for breaking stereotypes for Black actresses, with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. personally encouraging her to stay with the TV series when she expressed doubts about continuing working on the program. She met him at a civil rights gathering in 1967, at a point when she had decided not to return for the show's second season.

"He said, 'You cannot do that,'" Nichols recalled. "You've changed the face of television forever, and therefore, you've changed the minds of people," she said the civil rights leader told her during a meeting.

During the third season of "Star Trek," Nichols and another series star, William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, made TV history when they shared an interracial kiss.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#191 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Aug 30, 2022 4:27 pm

Famed World War II fighter pilot Dean ‘Diz’ Laird has died at 101, family says
By Amanda Musa, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/us/wwii- ... index.html

Dean “Diz” Laird, the only known Navy ace to shoot down both German and Japanese planes during World War II, has died, his daughter told CNN on Monday. He was 101.

Andrea Laird said her father died by her side in Walnut Creek, California, on August 10.

In June, according to his daughter, Laird took his final flight with the help of Dream Flights, a Nevada company that is “dedicated to honoring military veterans and seniors with the adventure of a lifetime,” according to the company website.

He was joined by fellow fighter pilot Clarence “Bud” Anderson, who is set to turn 101 in January.

World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran Hershel "Woody" William 95, is the last surviving U.S. Marine WWII Medal of Honor recipient. He spoke at Operation Bravo-Zulu, a 75th anniversary D-Day commemoration celebrating the turning point for the U.S. and its allies in World War II. Bravo-Zulu was a U.S. Navy signal communicating "job well done." The commemoration was held at the Louisville Memorial Auditorium.
June 6, 2019
The last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient has died, age 98
“He and Bud got together, and we also had a bottle of champagne there for them. For them to each toast after their flights,” Andrea Laird told CNN.

On his 90th birthday, Laird went skydiving out of an aircraft, the according to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, which described him as the “quintessential fighter pilot.”

Born February 7, 1921, in Loomis, California, Laird joined the US Navy in 1942 at the age of 20, days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, his daughter said.

“I think there was a love of flight, and he already had a pilot’s license,” she said.

“He remembered seeing film footage of biplanes landing on boat decks that had been turned into carriers […] and he thought that looks like a heck of a lot of fun. I’d like to do that.”

His career began in the European theater, according to a biography on the USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum. Flying a Grumman Wildcat, he shot down two German planes – a bomber and a seaplane – during an operation off Norway in 1943. He switched to the Pacific in 1944 and shot down several Japanese aircraft, according to the museum.

In total, Laird shot down six or seven planes, according to the museum, although his official total is 5.75 planes, because of the way shot-downs are shared among members of a squadron. The title of an “ace” is given to fighter pilots credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft.

After World War II, Laird flew in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, in which he made a total of 32 trans-Pacific flights, his daughter said.

After 29 years with the US Navy, Laird retired as a commander in 1971 at the age of 50.

During that time, he logged more than 8,200 hours in 3,662 jets, 4,623 propeller aircraft and 520 carrier landings, according to the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

In 2013, Laird was entered into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame and is remembered as the only US Navy ace to have combat victories in both the Pacific and European theaters of World War II, according to the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

“He truly embodied the spirit of aviation and space exploration which earned him an honored place in the prestigious International Air & Space Hall of Fame,” said Jim Kidrick, the president and CEO of the museum.

Laird has also received several honors, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Congressional Gold Medal.

When asked how she will remember her father, Andrea Laird said, “He had an extremely dry, funny sense of humor.”

“And he was a really generous guy,” she said, adding that he tried to help people out when he could.

World War II began in 1939 and ended in 1945, with more than 16 million US troops serving in the battle. A total of 405,399 US troops died in the war.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#192 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:45 pm

Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet president who took down the Iron Curtain, dies

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/europe/m ... index.html

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution, has died in Moscow at the age of 92, according to official statements.

Gorbachev, whose tumultuous rule was associated with the terms perestroika and glasnost (reform and openness) died after a long illness, Russian state news agencies reported.

“Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness,” the Central Clinical Hospital said, according to RIA / Novosti Tuesday.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#193 Post by ribrash » Thu Sep 01, 2022 8:14 am

Bill Turnbull.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#194 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Fri Sep 02, 2022 7:30 pm

Frank Drake, astrophysicist and SETI research expert. Originated the Drake Equation
Aged 92.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#195 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Fri Sep 02, 2022 7:59 pm

Stella 'Jaye' Edwards, aged 103. Last surviving WWII ATA pilot. Mostly delivered single-engined fighters. RIP Ma'am.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#196 Post by TheGreenAnger » Sun Sep 04, 2022 8:31 am

Fox3WheresMyBanana wrote:
Fri Sep 02, 2022 7:30 pm
Frank Drake, astrophysicist and SETI research expert. Originated the Drake Equation
Aged 92.
You know I thought he had died years ago! ^:)^



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Re: Departed During 2022

#197 Post by PHXPhlyer » Sun Sep 04, 2022 8:23 pm

Gravity's Been Busy

TikTok influencer dies following sky diving accident in Toronto
Bed Bath & Beyond executive jumped to his death from high-rise balcony, law enforcement source tells CNN
Denver woman falls 900 feet to her death while climbing Capitol Peak

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Re: Departed During 2022

#198 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Sep 13, 2022 7:20 pm

Ramsey Lewis, jazz pianist who revitalized genre, dies at 87

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/13/entertai ... index.html

Depending on which music pundit you ask, jazz “died” when its 1920s heyday ended. Others believe jazz music lost its luster when the 1960s – and rock music – rolled around.

But Ramsey Lewis, an inventive jazz pianist and one of the nation’s most respected artists in the genre, continued to find novel ways to keep the genre alive and evolving and, crucially, grow new generations of jazz listeners.

Lewis spent nearly 60 years recording and performing original jazz music, striking gold in 1965 with the crossover hit “The ‘In’ Crowd.” He won three Grammys, scored seven gold records and in 2007 was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master, the highest honor bestowed upon jazz musicians in the US.

Lewis died Monday at his home in his native Chicago, his manager Brett Steele confirmed. He was 87.

Lewis was behind some crossover hits
A lifelong Chicagoan, Lewis grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing project in the city’s Near North Side. Though he played piano throughout his childhood, his exposure to jazz came only at home, when his father would play records from Duke Ellington and Art Tatum (one of Lewis’ all-time favorite artists). He didn’t attempt to learn to play jazz himself until another musician at his church approached him to start a band when he was 15, according to the National Endowment for the Arts’ biography of Lewis.

After honing his jazz piano skills with that band, the Clefs, he formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio with bassist Eddie Young and Redd Holt on percussion, per his website. Their debut album was released in 1956, but it wasn’t until almost 10 years later that they became national stars: The trio’s instrumental cover of “The ‘In’ Crowd” became a hit upon its 1965 release and won Lewis his first of three Grammys.

The mid-1960s also saw the release of crossover hits like “Hang on Sloopy” and “Wade in the Water,” two songs that resonated with listeners from all backgrounds, not just jazz aficionados.

The trio’s line-up shuffled over the years – other members included Maurice White on drums (he eventually departed the trio to start Earth, Wind & Fire but returned to produce Lewis’ 1974 album “Sun Goddess”). Lewis collaborated with other artists in his genre, too, including the late jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson on several albums, including 1984’s “The Two of Us.”

Lewis melded the gospel music and blues he’d grown up playing with the jazz his father loved and the popular sounds of the time to create what became contemporary jazz music. His jazz compositions had funk and soul (a style he perfected on “Sun Goddess” and showcased on programs like “Soul Train”), though he could play classical compositions with ease and panache, too (he once counted Bach as one of his favorite sources of “brain food”).

Lewis left a legacy in Chicago and beyond
Lewis had a prolific output, releasing two to three albums a year for several years after the success of “The ‘In’ Crowd.” In all, he recorded more than 80 albums, including last year’s “Maha de Carnaval.”

He retired in fits and starts. In 2018, he told Chicago station WGN that he took off several days in a row from performing and practicing piano and quickly became bored. In 2019, he opened the Chicago-based Ravinia Festival and told the Chicago Tribune that year that he was “90-some percent retired” – he’d still perform locally, but he was fully retired from touring across the US.

When he wasn’t performing, Lewis was still introducing listeners to new artists and replaying old favorites: He hosted several jazz programs on public radio and TV stations in Chicago throughout his life.

He was also a great proponent of arts education and uplifting musically gifted young people. He founded the Ramsey Lewis Foundation in 2005, which brought music programs to at-risk youth. He recalled his own foundational arts education at his Chicago public school, which he said offered various bands and musical electives. He lamented the defunding of public school arts classes.

“When they knocked that out of the public school system, we lost a lot of kids who could probably have contributed to the scene as we know it,” he told WGN.

Music was oxygen to Lewis; he couldn’t quit composing original songs even after he “retired.” In the 2018 interview with WGN, he shared that he was still tinkering with a song he started writing 15 years earlier. He spent much of his time at home at his beloved Steinway piano, which he said he bought in 1962. An eternal student eager to sharpen his skills, he listened to everything, across genres, that would fit on his iPod.

When asked in 2009 what he considered the greatest album ever, he replied, “There is no such animal.”

“What feels satisfying to me today might not tomorrow or next week,” he told Pop Matters in 2009. “The best album I ever heard was the one I just listened to, unless I’m spending time researching other cultures or auditioning new music/artists. So then … you never know!”

Lewis was remembered by his friends and admirers for his innovative style and inquisitive spirit. The Rev. Jesse Jackson recalled living near Lewis for more than 40 years, watching their children grow up together.

“Ramsey had exquisite taste and was formally trained and disciplined,” Jackson tweeted. “I will miss him as a friend and a neighbor.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city of Chicago was grateful to have Lewis as a “native son.” Based on his lifetime of playing in his beloved Chicago, he felt the same pride representing his city. As he put it succinctly in a 2011 interview: “Chicago is home.”

Lewis is survived by his wife and five of his children.

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Re: Departed During 2022

#199 Post by llondel » Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:48 pm

Ken Starr, who had the job of investigating Bill Clinton, has died at 76.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ken-starr- ... =181266189

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Re: Departed During 2022

#200 Post by FD2 » Tue Sep 13, 2022 10:22 pm

Ramsey Lewis, jazz pianist who revitalized genre, dies at 87

Ahhh - the 'In Crowd' was so cool at the time. Lots of us wanted to be in it but didn't stand a chance!

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